Method for manufacturing light emitting device

ABSTRACT

A method for manufacturing a light emitting device includes: mounting a light emitting element on the support body upper surface such that a light emitting element lower surface of light emitting element is opposite to the support body upper surface in a height direction, a frame and the light emitting element being mounted such that the light emitting element is located in an opening of the frame; injecting a resin into an inner space provided between the frame and the light emitting element through an inlet to form a covering member which covers the light emitting element such that at least a part of a light emitting element upper surface is exposed, the inlet connecting the inner space and an outer space opposite to the inner space with respect to the frame wall; and providing a light-transmissive member on the light emitting element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to JapanesePatent Application No. 2015-140405, filed Jul. 14, 2015, entitled“Method for manufacturing light emitting device”. The contents of thisapplication are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a lightemitting device.

Discussion of the Background

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2010-219324, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2012-227470, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2013-012545, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2014-112669 describe light emitting devices in which a lateral surfaceof a light emitting element is covered with a reflective member withoutproviding a housing to house the light emitting element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method formanufacturing a light emitting device includes: preparing a support bodyhaving a support body upper surface; mounting a frame on the supportbody upper surface such that a frame lower surface of the frame isopposite to the support body upper surface in a height direction, theframe including a frame wall to surround an opening which passes throughthe frame in the height direction; mounting a light emitting element onthe support body upper surface of the support body such that a lightemitting element lower surface of the light emitting element is oppositeto the support body upper surface in the height direction, the frame andthe light emitting element being mounted such that the light emittingelement is located in the opening of the frame, the light emittingelement having a light emitting element upper surface from which a lightis to be emitted and which is opposite to the light emitting elementlower surface in the height direction; injecting a resin into an innerspace provided between the frame and the light emitting element throughan inlet to form a covering member which covers the light emittingelement such that at least a part of the light emitting element uppersurface is exposed, the inlet connecting the inner space and an outerspace opposite to the inner space with respect to the frame wall; andproviding a light-transmissive member on the light emitting element.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method formanufacturing a light emitting device includes: providing a support bodyhaving a support body upper surface on which a groove is provided;mounting a light emitting element on the support body upper surface;mounting a frame on the support body upper surface such that the framelower surface is opposite to the support body upper surface and to thegroove in a height direction to provide an inlet defined by the grooveand the frame lower surface, the frame including a frame wall tosurround an opening passing through the frame in the height direction,the frame and the light emitting element being mounted such that thelight emitting element is located in the opening of the frame to providean inner space between the frame and the light emitting element, theinlet connecting the inner space and an outer space opposite to theinner space with respect to the frame wall; and injecting a resin intothe inner space through the inlet to form a covering member between theframe and the light emitting element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a light emitting device in afirst embodiment taken from an upper diagonal direction;

FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view of the light emitting device inthe first embodiment taken from a lower diagonal direction;

FIG. 1C is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line A1-A1 inFIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line A2-A2 inFIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a light emitting elementused in the light emitting device in some embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing a method for manufacturing the lightemitting device in the first embodiment;

FIG. 2C is a schematic view showing the method for manufacturing thelight emitting device in the first embodiment;

FIG. 2D is a schematic view showing the method for manufacturing thelight emitting device in the first embodiment;

FIG. 2E is a schematic view showing the method for manufacturing thelight emitting device in the first embodiment;

FIG. 2F is a schematic view showing the method for manufacturing thelight emitting device in the first embodiment;

FIG. 2G is a schematic view showing the method for manufacturing thelight emitting device in the first embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a light emitting devicein a second embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the light emitting devicein the second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a method for manufacturing the lightemitting device in the second embodiment;

FIG. 5A is a schematic view showing a method for manufacturing a lightemitting device in a third embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a schematic view showing the method for manufacturing thelight emitting device in the third embodiment;

FIG. 6A is a schematic view showing a method for manufacturing a lightemitting device in a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 6B is a schematic view showing the method for manufacturing thelight emitting device in the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 7A is a schematic perspective view of the light emitting device inthe fourth embodiment taken from an upper diagonal direction;

FIG. 7B is a schematic perspective view of the light emitting device inthe fourth embodiment taken from a lower diagonal direction;

FIG. 8A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a light emitting devicein a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 8B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the light emitting devicein the fifth embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the light emitting devicein the fifth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding oridentical elements throughout the various drawings.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the followingdescription occasionally uses terms expressing specific directions andpositions (such as “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, and other termsincluding the those terms). Since the terms are used to easilyunderstand the embodiments of the present invention with reference tothe drawings, the technical scope of the present invention is notlimited by the meanings of those terms. Furthermore, the same part orthe same member is marked with the same reference sign in the drawings.

Furthermore, a “frame” may be also referred to as a “side wall” providedto surround one opening. When the one frame is provided with a pluralityof openings, the side wall is provided with respect to each opening.That is, the frame or side wall includes not only an outermost sidewall, but also a partition wall between the openings when viewed as awhole. Furthermore, as for the one frame (i.e., side wall) surroundingthe one opening, a lateral surface on a side on which a light emittingelement is mounted is referred to as an inner surface, and a lateralsurface opposite to the inner surface is referred to as an outersurface. In addition, in a case where the two openings on which thelight emitting elements are mounted share the one frame as their sidewalls, the inner surface of the one opening serves as the outer surfaceof the other opening, that is, the one lateral surface serves as both ofthe inner surface and the outer surface. In this case, the inner surfaceand the outer surface are specified with respect to either one of theopenings, for convenience of the description.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1A to 1D illustrate a light emitting device 1 in the firstembodiment. FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of the lightemitting device 1 taken from an upper diagonal direction, FIG. 1B is aschematic perspective view of the light emitting device 1 taken from alower diagonal direction, FIG. 1C is a schematic cross-sectional viewtaken along a line A1-A1 in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1D is a schematiccross-sectional view taken along a line A2-A2 in FIG. 1A.

The light emitting device 1 includes a light emitting element 10, acovering member 20 to cover a lateral surface 10 e of the light emittingelement, a light-transmissive member 30 to cover an upper surface 10 eof the light emitting element and an upper surface of the coveringmember 20, and a frame 40 surrounding a lateral surface of thelight-transmissive member 30 and a lateral surface of the coveringmember 20. A method for manufacturing the light emitting device in thefirst embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2G.

Step of Preparing Light Emitting Element

The light emitting element is provided by preparing a semiconductorlight emitting element such as light emitting diode. The light emittingelement 10 includes a layered structure 10 a composed of alight-transmissive substrate and semiconductor layers, and an electrode10 b. The layered structure 10 a includes a light emitting layer 10 aain the semiconductor layers. The upper surface 10 c serves as a lightextracting surface which is opposite to a lower surface (i.e., electrodeforming surface 10 d) on which the electrode 10 b is formed.

Step of Preparing Support Body

A support body 100 having an upper surface 100 a is prepared. Thesupport body may be a support body having a bonding member to bond aframe which will be described below, or may be a support body not havingthe bonding member.

Step of Preparing Frame

A frame 40 is prepared which has an upper surface 40 a and a lowersurface 40 b, and includes an opening 40 c penetrating from the uppersurface to the lower surface. A height of the frame 40 (i.e., lengthbetween the upper surface to the lower surface) is higher than a heightof the light emitting element to be provided in a subsequent step. Theframe 40 includes a through hole 40 d which penetrates from an outersurface to an inner surface in the frame (i.e., side wall) surroundingthe one opening. This through hole 40 d serves as an inlet 40 d throughwhich a resin is injected into the opening. An upper end of the inlet 40d is spaced apart from the upper surface 40 a of the frame. A lower endof the inlet 40 d is at the same level as the lower surface of the frame(i.e., the lower surface bonded to the support body). That is, thethrough hole 40 d may be referred to as a notch in the lower surface ofthe frame, or a recessed portion of the lower surface.

Step of Mounting Frame on Support Body

The frame is mounted on the upper surface 100 a of the support body withthe lower surface 40 b facing thereto. It is preferable that a bondingmember is provided on the upper surface 100 a of the support body and/orthe lower surface 40 b of the frame, and the support body and the frameare bonded through the bonding member. Thus, after the support body 100and the frame 40 have been bonded, a recessed portion is formed in aposition corresponding to the opening 40 c of the frame. In other words,in the recessed portion, the upper surface 100 a of the support bodyserves as its bottom surface, and the frame 40 serves as its side wall.

The through hole 40 d of the frame serves as the inlet to be used forinjecting the resin as described above, and the inlet partially includesthe upper surface 100 a of the support body.

Step of Mounting Light Emitting Element

The light emitting element 10 is mounted on the upper surface 100 a ofthe support body in the opening 40 c of the frame. A die bond member isprovided on the upper surface 100 a of the support body and/or the lowersurface of the light emitting element 10 (or a lower surface of theelectrode 10 b when the lower surface has the electrode), and thesupport body 100 and the light emitting element 10 are bonded throughthe die bond member. Regarding a mounting order of the frame 40 and thelight emitting element 10 on the upper surface 100 a of the supportbody, the light emitting element 10 may be mounted after the frame 40has been mounted, or the frame 40 may be mounted after the lightemitting element 10 has been mounted. Preferably, the frame 40 is firstmounted on the upper surface 100 a of the support body. Furthermore, thelight emitting element is preferably mounted so that the lateral surface10 e is spaced apart from the inner lateral surface of the frame 40. Itis especially preferable that the light emitting element is mounted sothat each surface is equally spaced apart from the inner lateral surfaceof the frame 40. In other words, the light emitting element 10 ispreferably mounted so that its center approximately coincides with acenter of the opening 40 c of the frame.

Step of Forming Covering Member

Subsequently, the covering member 20 is formed by injecting the resinfrom the outer side of the opening 40 c to the inner side of the opening40 c through the inlet 40 d provided in the frame (i.e., side wall) 40.In other words, the covering member 20 is formed by filling a spacebetween the lateral surface 10 e of the light emitting element and theframe 40 (i.e., the inner surface) with the resin. When there is a gapbetween the light emitting element 10 and the upper surface 100 a of thesupport body, the covering member 20 is formed by filling the gap withthe resin.

The covering member 20 is to be provided so as not to cover at least onepart of the upper surface 10 c of the light emitting element mounted inthe opening 40 c. Preferably, it is to be provided so that the uppersurface 10 c of the light emitting element is wholly exposed.Furthermore, the covering member 20 may wholly cover the lateral surface10 e of the light emitting element, or may be provided so as to cover upto at least the light emitting layer 10 aa, or to cover up to thelateral surface lower than the light emitting layer. Furthermore, thecovering member 20 may only cover the lower surface of the lightemitting element. Preferably, it is to be provided so as to wholly coverthe lateral surface 10 e of the light emitting element. The uppersurface of the covering member 20 provided between the inner surface ofthe frame 40 and the lateral surface 10 e of the light emitting elementmay be a flat surface, or a curved surface. In the latter case, theupper surface may be inclined so as to be low at the lateral surface 10e side of the light emitting element and high at the inner surface sideof the frame 40. For example, an inclined angle of the upper surface ofthe covering member 20 is preferably in a range of about 20 degrees toabout 80 degrees, and more preferably in a range of about 40 degrees toabout 50 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the support body.

The covering member 20 is formed of the resin injected through the inlet40 d provided in the frame. That is, the covering member 20 is formed ofthe resin which is injected not from the above, but from the side, inthe opening 40 c of the frame in which the light emitting element ismounted. That is, since the resin is injected from the position lowerthan the upper surface (i.e., light extracting surface) 10 c of thelight emitting element, the upper surface of the light emitting elementmay not likely to be covered with the resin.

The openings provided in the frame 40 may include the element mountingopening 40 c in which the light emitting element is mounted, and a resinsupplying opening 40 e provided adjacently. The inlet for the resin isprovided so as to penetrate the frame (side wall) 40 provided betweenthe element mounting opening 40 c and the resin supplying opening 40 e.Thus, the resin is supplied from an upper part of the resin supplyingopening 40 e to the resin supplying opening 40 e with a nozzle forexample, and the resin is injected into the element mounting opening 40c through the inlet 40 d provided in the frame. The resin is in aflowable liquid state at the time of injection, and its liquid surface(i.e., upper surface of the resin) is at almost the same level in bothopenings provided across the through hole (i.e., inlet). Therefore, anamount of the resin injected into the element mounting opening can beeasily seen from the opening. Thus, an appropriate amount of resin canbe filled, so that the resin can be prevented from being excessivelysupplied, and the upper surface of the light emitting element can beexposed. Furthermore, the resin is filled in the element mountingopening upward from the bottom surface, so that a void (cavity) can beprevented from being formed under the light emitting element and in alower portion (i.e, corner portion) of the frame.

Step of Forming Light-Transmissive Member

Next, a light-transmissive member 30 is provided on the light emittingelement 10 and the covering member 20. The light-transmissive member 30may be formed by for example potting from an upper part of the openingof the frame 40. In addition, in the case where the frame includes theresin supplying opening for supplying the covering member, thelight-transmissive member is not necessarily provided in the resinsupplying opening. The light-transmissive member may be composed of oneor more layers.

Step of Removing Support Body and Cutting Frame

Subsequently, the support body 100 is removed. After that, the frame 40is cut (along a broken line in FIG. 2G, for example), whereby the lightemitting device 1 illustrated in FIG. 1A can be obtained. The frame maybe cut with a dicer, blade, or laser.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A to 1D, for example, the light-transmissivemember and the frame (upper surface thereof) surrounding it compose theupper surface of the light emitting device 1 provided as describedabove. Thus, when the light emitting surface is surrounded by the framewhich has been previously formed, the light emitting device can be smallin size and good in distinguishability.

In addition, the frame 40 and the covering member 20 compose the lateralsurface of the light emitting device 1 provided as described above. Theeven lateral surface is composed of the frame 40 and the covering member20. Furthermore, the covering member 20 continuously forms the outersurface from the lateral surface to the lower surface of the lightemitting device 1. The electrode 10 b of the light emitting element isexposed in the lower surface of the light emitting device 1 andsurrounded by the covering member 20. Furthermore, the frame surroundsthe lateral sides of the covering member 20.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a light emitting device 2 in the secondembodiment. The light emitting device 2 includes a light emittingelement 10, a covering member 20 to cover a lateral surface 10 e of thelight emitting element, a light-transmissive member 30 to cover an uppersurface 10 c of the light emitting element and an upper surface of thecovering member 20, and a frame 40 surrounding a lateral surface of thelight-transmissive member 30 and a lateral surface of the coveringmember 20. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodimentexcept that a through hole (inlet) in the frame is formed in a positionspaced apart from a lower surface of the frame. Therefore, a differentpoint will be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the frame 40 includes the through hole (inlet)penetrating from an outer surface to an inner surface. An upper end ofthe inlet is away from an upper surface of the frame, and a lower end ofthe inlet is away from the lower surface of the frame. When the lightemitting device includes the frame having the inlet in that position,the covering member composing an outer surface is away from a lowersurface of the light emitting device. For example, the lower end of thethrough hole is preferably lower than a light emitting layer of thelight emitting element. In addition, an upper end of the through hole ispreferably lower than the upper surface of the light emitting element.

Third Embodiment

A light emitting device in the third embodiment includes a frame 40 anda support body 100 illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B. An outline of thislight emitting device is similar to that in FIG. 1. The third embodimentis similar to the first embodiment in that a through hole 40 d in theframe 40 is a notch to a lower surface of the frame 40 (i.e., a recessedportion of the lower surface of the frame). According to the thirdembodiment, a groove 100 b is provided in an upper surface 100 a of thesupport body 100, and the through hole 40 d in the frame and the groove100 b in the support body 100 compose an inlet. The groove 100 b isprovided in the upper surface of the support body 100, under the throughhole 40 d of the frame. A width of the through hole 40 d of the frame40, and a width of the groove 100 b of the support body 100 may bealmost the same or may be different from each other.

Fourth Embodiment

A light emitting device in the fourth embodiment includes a frame 40 anda support body 100 illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B. More specifically, amethod for manufacturing the light emitting device includes preparingthe frame 40 having an opening 40 c penetrating from an upper surface toa lower surface, preparing the support body 100 having a groove 100 bwhich is formed in an upper surface 100 a and has a length greater thana distance between an outer surface and an inner surface of the frame,forming an inlet composed of the groove and the lower surface of theframe by disposing the lower surface 40 b of the frame above the groove100 b of the support body, mounting a light emitting element on theupper surface of the support body in the opening of the frame, andforming a covering member between the frame and the light emittingelement by injecting a resin through the inlet. That is, the frame doesnot have a through hole, and the frame has an even lower surface. Thus,under the lower surface of the frame, the inlet 40 d is composed of thegroove 100 b in the upper surface of the support body and the lowersurface 40 b of the frame.

When a light emitting device 3 includes the above frame and the abovesupport body and manufactured by the steps similar to those in the firstembodiment, an outer surface of the light emitting device is onlycomposed of the frame as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B. A coveringmember is exposed in a lower surface of the light emitting device.

Fifth Embodiment

A light emitting device 4 in the fifth embodiment is composed of theframe and the support body used in the fourth embodiment. According tothe fifth embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B for example, acovering member 20 does not cover a lateral surface of a light emittingelement, or the covering member 20 is provided so as not to cover alight emitting layer. Thus, a light-transmissive member covers an uppersurface of the covering member and an upper surface of the lightemitting element and is composed of two layers. That is, thelight-transmissive members include a first light-transmissive member 31which covers the lateral surface and the upper surface of the lightemitting element 10, and a second light-transmissive member 32 whichcovers the first light-transmissive member 31. The secondlight-transmissive member is provided so as not to be in contact withthe light emitting element. In the case where the two-layer structure isprovided, the first light-transmissive member may be a member (such as atransparent member) not containing a fluorescent material, and thesecond light-transmissive member may be a layer containing a fluorescentmaterial. In this case, color unevenness can be reduced in a lightexternally emitted through a fluorescent layer. In addition, the firstlight-transmissive member 31 may be provided so as to be in contact withthe upper surface of the light emitting element.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 9, a light emitting device 5 mayinclude a covering member 20 having an inclined upper surface. Thecovering member 20 is preferably formed so as to be high on a side of aninner surface of the frame 40, and low on a lateral surface side of thelight emitting element. For example, an inclined angle of the uppersurface of the covering member 20 is preferably in a range of about 20degrees to about 80 degrees with respect to the upper surface of thesupport body, and more preferably in a range of about 40 degrees toabout 50 degrees. Thus, the first light-transmissive member 31 may beprovided between the inclined upper surface (i.e., inclined surface) ofthe covering member 20 and the lateral surface of the light emittingelement 10. In this state, the second light-transmissive member 32 maybe provided so as to cover the first light-transmissive member 31. Whenthe first light-transmissive member is the member (e.g., transparentmember) which does not contain the fluorescent material, the lightemitted from the lateral surface of the light emitting element reachesthe upper surface (i.e., inclined surface) of the covering member 20.Thus, the light can be efficiently reflected by the covering member 20in the direction of the upper surface of the light emitting device, sothat light extracting efficiency can be improved. In addition, in thecase where the upper surface of the covering member 20 is inclined, anadjustment can be made by such as surface states of the inner surface ofthe frame and the lateral surface of the light emitting element, anangle, and an injection amount. Furthermore, this inclined surface maybe a planar surface in a cross-sectional view, or may be a curvedsurface such as a convex curved surface or a concave curved surface.

Hereinafter, the Components in Each Embodiment Will be Described inDetail.

Support Body

The support body has the upper surface on which the frame is mounted,and may be for example a flat-plate support body. The recessed portionin which the light emitting element is mounted is composed of the uppersurface of the support body and the frame, and the upper surface of thesupport body serves as a bottom surface of the recessed portion. Thesupport body is a base to support each member in respective steps. Forexample, the support body integrally supports the members in the step ofmounting the light emitting element, the step of mounting the frame, thestep of forming the covering member, and the step of forming thelight-transmissive member. Therefore, the support body is preferably amember having a certain level of strength.

Furthermore, the support body is separated from the frame before thelight emitting device is singulated. The support body can be separatedfrom the frame by removing a bonding agent, or cutting. Thus, thesupport body itself is not included in the light emitting device. Thesupport body and the frame are bonded with the bonding member, and theyare preferably bonded by force to the extent that they are not separatedin each step. However, since the support body is separated from theframe in the final stage, the bonding member which can be easilyseparated from the frame is preferably used.

The support body may be an electrically conductive support body or aninsulating support body. For example, the support body includes a metalplate made of Cu, stainless, resin, or glass. Furthermore, the bondingmember to bond the support body to the frame includes a silicone resin.

Frame

The frame includes the opening having an area larger than the uppersurface of the light emitting element. The frame preferably has theplurality of openings. Furthermore, the openings preferably include theelement mounting opening in which the light emitting element is mounted,and the resin supplying opening. The plurality of light emitting elementmounting openings can be provided in the one frame. The adjacentopenings can share one frame (i.e., side wall). The resin supplyingopening is provided adjacently to the light emitting element mountingopening, and the through hole is provided in the frame (i.e., side wall)between the two openings.

The frame is cut around the opening in which the light emitting elementis mounted. At this time, when the frame is cut so that the frame isleft around each of the light emitting devices, the outside of thecovering member around the light emitting element can be covered withthe frame. That is, the frame serves as the outer surface of thesingulated light emitting device. In the case where the frame includesthe plurality of openings, and the frame provided between the two rightand left openings is cut along its center for example, the frame canserve as outer surfaces of the right light emitting device and the leftlight emitting device.

The upper surface of the frame serves as a part of the upper surface ofthe light emitting device. The upper surface of the frame may be aplanar surface or a curved surface. Furthermore, the upper surface ofthe frame may be a coarse surface. The lower surface of the frame servesas a part of the lower surface of the light emitting device. The lowersurface of the frame is preferably a planar surface because it ismounted on the upper surface of the support body.

The through hole or the notch (i.e., recessed portion in the lowersurface) in the frame serves as the inlet used for injecting the resininto the opening. One or more through holes may be provided for the oneopening of the frame. In addition, the through hole or the notch can beshared by the two openings. The upper end of the through hole or thenotch is to be provided in a position lower than the light emittinglayer of the light emitting element mounted in the opening, in avertical direction of the frame.

An open shape of the through hole or the notch may be a polygonal shapesuch as quadrangle or triangle, circular shape, elliptical shape, orcombined shape of those. Furthermore, an open shape on the inner surfaceside and an open shape on the outer surface side may be the same ordifferent from each other. Furthermore, their sizes thereof may be thesame or different from each other. For example, an open diameter on theouter surface side may be larger or smaller than an open diameter on theinner surface side.

In addition, an inner wall of the through hole extending from the innersurface to the outer surface may have a planar surface or a curvedsurface. Furthermore, the inner wall may have an uneven surface or stepdifference. Furthermore, the through hole may branch in the frame (inthe side wall) in such a manner that one opening is provided on theouter surface and two openings are provided on the inner surface.

The frame can be formed by injection molding, compression molding,transfer molding, printing, or spraying.

For example, the frame is preferably made of thermosetting resin such assilicone resin, silicone modified resin, epoxy resin, or phenol resin.The material may be the same as that of the covering member to bedescribed later or different from it.

The frame can be made of light-transmissive resin, or light-reflectiveresin. The light-reflective resin may be a resin having a reflectivityof 70% or more with respect to the light from the light emittingelement. Alternatively, the frame may be made of light-absorptive resin.

The light-reflective resin may be provided by for example diffusing alight-reflective material in the light-transmissive resin. For example,the light-reflective material is preferably titanium oxide, siliconoxide, zirconium oxide, potassium titanate, aluminum oxide, aluminumnitride, boron nitride, and mullite. The light-reflective material maybe in the form of particle, fiber, or flake, but the fiber is especiallypreferable because an effect to lower a thermal expansion rate of thecovering member can be expected.

Light Emitting Element

The light emitting element may be a semiconductor light emitting elementsuch as light emitting diode, and the light emitting element may emit avisible light such as blue, green, or red light. The semiconductor lightemitting element includes the layered structure including the lightemitting layer, and the electrode. The layered structure has the surfaceon which the electrode is faulted (electrode forming surface), and thelight extracting surface on an opposite side.

The layered structure includes semiconductor layers including the lightemitting layer. Furthermore, it may include a light-transmissivesubstrate made of sapphire, or the like. For example, the stackedsemiconductor layers may include three semiconductor layers such as afirst conductivity type semiconductor layer (such as n-typesemiconductor layer), a light emitting layer (active layer), and asecond conductivity type semiconductor layer (such as p-typesemiconductor layer). The semiconductor layer which can emit anultraviolet light or a visible light such as blue to green light may bemade of semiconductor material such as group III-V compoundsemiconductor, or group II-VI compound semiconductor. More specifically,the semiconductor material may be a nitride-based semiconductor materialsuch as In_(X)Al_(Y)Ga_(1-X-Y)N (0≦X, 0≦Y, X+Y≦1) (for example InN, AlN,GaN, InGaN, AlGaN, or InGaAlN). The stacked semiconductor layer whichcan emit the red light may be made of GaAs, GaAlAs, GaP, InGaAs, orInGaAsP.

The light emitting element includes a pair of electrodes, and theelectrodes are disposed on the same surface (i.e., electrode formingsurface) of the layered structure. The pair of electrode may have asingle-layer structure or a stacked-layer structure as long as it can beohmic-connected to the layered structure so that linear or almost linearcurrent-voltage characteristics can be provided. This electrode may beformed of common material so as to have a common configuration and acertain thickness in this related field. For example, the thickness ofthe electrode is preferably several tens of μm to 300 μm. Furthermore,the electrode may be made of electrically conductive material andpreferably made of metal such as Cu.

Covering Member

The covering member is preferably a thermosetting resin such as siliconeresin, silicon modified resin, epoxy resin, or phenol resin.

The covering member may be formed of light-reflective resin. Thelight-reflective resin means a resin material having a reflectivity of70% or more with respect to the light from the light emitting element.For example, a white resin is preferably used. Thus, the light isreflected by the covering member and sent toward the light emittingsurface of the light emitting device, so that light extractingefficiency of the light emitting device can be enhanced.

The light-reflective resin may be provided by, for example, diffusing alight-reflective material in a light-transmissive resin. For example,the light-reflective material is preferably titanium oxide, siliconoxide, zirconium oxide, potassium titanate, aluminum oxide, aluminumnitride, boron nitride, and mullite. The light-reflective material maybe in the form of particle, fiber, or flake, but the fiber is especiallypreferable because an effect to lower a thermal expansion rate of thecovering member can be expected.

Light-Transmissive Member

The light-transmissive member is made of light-transmissive materialsuch as light-transmissive resin or glass. Especially, thelight-transmissive resin is preferably used, and the material may be athermosetting resin such as silicone resin, silicon modified resin,epoxy resin, or phenol resin, or may be a thermoplastic resin such aspolycarbonate resin, acrylic resin, methylpentene resin, orpolynorbomene resin. Especially, the silicone resin is preferably usedbecause it has good light resistance and heat resistance properties.

The light-transmissive member may contain a fluorescent material inaddition to the above light-transmissive material. The fluorescentmaterial is to be excited by the light emitted from the light emittingelement. The fluorescent material which can be excited by light emittedfrom a blue-light emitting element or an ultraviolet-light emittingelement includes, for example, cerium-activated yttrium aluminum garnet(Ce: YAG)-based fluorescent material; cerium-activated lutetium aluminumgarnet (Ce: LAG)-based fluorescent material; europium and/orchrome-activated nitrogen-containing calcium aluminosilicate(CaO—Al₂O₃—SiO₂)-based fluorescent material; europium-activated silicate((Sr, Ba)₂SiO₄)-based fluorescent material; nitride-based fluorescentmaterial such as β sialon fluorescent material, CASN-based fluorescentmaterial, or SCASN-based fluorescent material; KSF (K₂SiF₆: Mn)-basedfluorescent material; sulfide-based fluorescent material, and quantumdot fluorescent material. With the blue-light emitting element orultraviolet-light emitting element combined with the above fluorescentmaterial, the light emitting device that can emit lights having variouscolors, such as white light based light emitting device can bemanufactured.

Furthermore, the light-transmissive member may contain various kinds offillers for the purpose of adjustment of viscosity, or the like.

In the case where the light-transmissive member includes the firstlight-transmissive member not containing the fluorescent material andthe second light-transmissive member containing the fluorescentmaterial, the above light-transmissive material may be used as thelight-transmissive material. The light-transmissive material for thefirst light-transmissive member and the light-transmissive material forthe second light-transmissive member may be the same or different fromeach other. Furthermore, the fluorescent material contained in thesecond light-transmissive member may be selected from the abovefluorescent materials.

Several embodiments of the present invention have been described, butthe present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and may beappropriately modified without departing from the scope of the presentinvention as a matter of course.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is thereforeto be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing a light emittingdevice, comprising: preparing a support body having a support body uppersurface; mounting a frame on the support body upper surface such that aframe lower surface of the frame is opposite to the support body uppersurface in a height direction, the frame including a frame wall tosurround an opening which passes through the frame in the heightdirection; mounting a light emitting element on the support body uppersurface of the support body such that a light emitting element lowersurface of the light emitting element is opposite to the support bodyupper surface in the height direction, the frame and the light emittingelement being mounted such that the light emitting element is located inthe opening of the frame, the light emitting element having a lightemitting element upper surface from which a light is to be emitted andwhich is opposite to the light emitting element lower surface in theheight direction; injecting a resin into an inner space provided betweenthe frame and the light emitting element through an inlet to form acovering member which covers the light emitting element such that atleast a part of the light emitting element upper surface is exposed, theinlet connecting the inner space and an outer space opposite to theinner space with respect to the frame wall, wherein the support body hasa groove on the support body upper surface to form a part of the inlet;and providing a light-transmissive member on the light emitting element.2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inlet has a bottom wallcontacting the support body upper surface.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the inlet is provided between the frame lower surfaceand the support body upper surface.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein an upper end of the inlet in the height direction beingpositioned lower than a light emitting layer of the light emittingelement in the height direction.
 5. A method for manufacturing a lightemitting device, comprising: providing a support body having a supportbody upper surface on which a groove is provided; mounting a lightemitting element on the support body upper surface; mounting a frame onthe support body upper surface such that a frame lower surface of theframe is opposite to the support body upper surface and to the groove ina height direction to provide an inlet defined by the groove and theframe lower surface, the frame including a frame wall to surround anopening passing through the frame in the height direction, the frame andthe light emitting element being mounted such that the light emittingelement is located in the opening of the frame to provide an inner spacebetween the frame and the light emitting element, the inlet connectingthe inner space and an outer space opposite to the inner space withrespect to the frame wall; and injecting a resin into the inner spacethrough the inlet to form a covering member between the frame and thelight emitting element.
 6. A method for manufacturing a light emittingdevice, comprising: preparing a support body having a support body uppersurface; mounting a frame on the support body upper surface such that aframe lower surface of the frame is opposite to the support body uppersurface in a height direction, the frame including a frame wall tosurround an opening which passes through the frame in the heightdirection; mounting a light emitting element on the support body uppersurface of the support body such that a light emitting element lowersurface of the light emitting element is opposite to the support bodyupper surface in the height direction, the frame and the light emittingelement being mounted such that the light emitting element is located inthe opening of the frame, the light emitting element having a lightemitting element upper surface from which a light is to be emitted andwhich is opposite to the light emitting element lower surface in theheight direction; injecting a resin into an inner space provided betweenthe frame and the light emitting element through an inlet to form acovering member which covers the light emitting element such that atleast a part of the light emitting element upper surface is exposed, theinlet connecting the inner space and an outer space opposite to theinner space with respect to the frame wall; and providing alight-transmissive member on the light emitting element, wherein theouter space comprises a resin supplying opening provided in the frame tobe connected to the opening via the inlet.
 7. The method according toclaim 6, further comprising: cutting the frame wall provided between theopening and the resin supplying opening.
 8. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the light-transmissive member comprises a fluorescentmaterial.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the frame ismounted on the support body upper surface and then the light emittingelement is mounted on the support body upper surface in the opening ofthe frame.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the lightemitting element is mounted on the support body upper surface and thenthe frame is mounted on the support body upper surface such that thelight emitting element is located in the opening of the frame.
 11. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmissive member isprovided on the light emitting element upper surface and on the coveringmember.
 12. The method according to claim 5, wherein an upper end of theinlet in the height direction is positioned lower than a light emittinglayer of the light emitting element in the height direction.
 13. Themethod according to claim 5, wherein the opening of the frame comprisesan element mounting opening in which the light emitting element is to bemounted, and a resin supplying opening communicating with the elementmounting opening via the inlet.
 14. The method according to claim 13,further comprising: cutting the frame provided between the elementmounting opening and the resin supplying opening.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the light-transmissive member comprises afluorescent material.
 16. The method according to claim 5, wherein theframe is mounted on the support body upper surface and then the lightemitting element is mounted on the support body upper surface in theopening of the frame.
 17. The method according to claim 5, wherein thelight emitting element is mounted on the support body upper surface andthen the frame is mounted on the support body upper surface such thatthe light emitting element is located in the opening of the frame. 18.The method according to claim 1, wherein the inlet passes through theframe wall to connect the inner space and the outer space.
 19. Themethod according to claim 5, wherein the frame wall has an additionalgroove in a lower wall to form a part of the inlet.